Does anyone know a way of getting a perfectly flat course and speed unaffected by cobbles or dirt roads as I would like to ride a 112 mile ride in as fast a time as possible. Also what bike and wheels would allow me to do this?

I richmond you can get that. You start from the banner and take the first fork to the left. You will nor reach the first banner again but is quite flat all the way, quite boring too.

Bike the only TT and wheels depending of your level. 112 miles is serious stuff for indoor training. You are going to need several liters of water and a lot of time.

I recommend you to do that on sunday morning. Usually there is a 5 hours ride that is going to be much more satisfying, funny, cooperative and enjoyable. I am from Spain and i think they start at 11:00 spanish time.

David, word of advice. I’m an IM athlete too so interested in the 112 mile efforts toward the racing season. Not sure I’ll ever do it though. I’ve done a couple of 100k’s already. You need the hills to break it up or else I reckon your arse will give out before your legs. I recommend Watopia, 2 flat loops and then a hill loop then switch direction. Use the start finish area to have a coffee break every 90 minutes. 2 minutes off the saddle makes a huge difference over long stretches.

I recently turned to cycling to stay fit as Zwift allows me to fit training in around my family commitments. A colleague has done a full Ironman and I wanted to have somewhat of an insight as to how hard it was for them so have been working on the bike section.

I did a 100 miler this weekend in 4h30, with one quick toilet break and the aid of tv and music at. Hope to do the 112 in 5 hours in a couple of weeks but as you say Michael I got a bit fidgety towards the end with an uncomfortable back side. I kept to the ‘prefer flat roads’ Richmond route which was boring to say the least Juan, as you pointed out, but certainly helped me time wise. I should be adventurous and add some hills but for my first and in all likelihood last 112 miler I would like to get it done as fast as possible.

I have chosen the TT bike and Zipp 808 wheels and I am going to test the 90 mins riders choice option in workouts as it says it gives a flat ride. If it works I will edit it and extend it to 5 hours and hopefullyget the desired effect.

I chose to ride at one output the whole way as I assumed this would minimize effort. I have never done endurance training before so any advice on what would help further and if this is correct would be greatly appreciated.

This weekend I took on board a litre of fluids per hour (bouncing between high 5 extreme (caffeine energy drink) and high 5 4:1 carbohydrate/protein drink. I alternated between an energy gel and energy bar each 30 mins and it got me through. Must admit I was buzzing on the caffeine for pretty much the rest of the day though. Can anyone suggest improvements on this if I am going wrong.

Best of luck with your 112 mile effort. I’m a new Zwift user but one thing I will add is that I go significantly faster on Zwift than in the real world. I have my trainer (nearly new tacx Vortex smart) calibrated before each ride and my weight correct and the watts showing on the screen pretty much match my powertap, but I should be going more slowly. Cruising along at 220 watts on a flat when I weigh 166 pounds, I should not be going 24 mph.

Somewhere in the Zwift Help/FAQ I read that the speed on Zwift should not be considered as similar to what you’d see on the roads. I’m not sure if there’s some sort of mode you can set where it would be.This is something for you to consider if you’re trying to truly get the effect of 112 miles on the road. My guess is I’d ride 30 minutes faster on Zwift for 100 miles for the same effort on a relatively flat road.

To be honest, I would not be that fussy with all the data to start with.

I did a 202km ride last week and ONLY did the hill routes in Watopia and the whole lap in Richmond. This also was the the last day of my 14day achievement (60-80km every day, not bragging, just being factual here). It did take me just over 7.5 hours and 2396 m elevation.

My thinking is simple. If I can do 200km in the hills I will be laughing all the way to do 180km on a flat. Basically, if you want 100, train for 200.

Also, being in the hills is far more rewarding and keeps boredom at bay. That is quite important to keep mentally going. I tried music and telly and they do not work for me.

Finally, I never ever use any artificial drinks just bottles of Juice / water (50/50) and get the wife to supply me with slices of toast with jam or honey, maybe a musli at the 100km mark. (I suggested to get a cardboard cut-out of a car door to be more realistic with serving the drinks but she refused). Try to stay in the saddle for as long as you can (in my case 7 hours 40 minutes) as everytime you get out the chances for chafe increase.

For Ironman the issue is not so much being able to ride 112 miles. It’s being able to do week after week of solid training with a 5 hour week at the end on the sunday and then not feel blown out on the monday. IM training is about building yourself up slowly to handle the total training volume. If a 112 mile ride puts you out for 2/3 days then it’s too much. Training consistency is more important than mega sessions at this time of year - i.e. when you’re building the endurance base. When you get closer to your race you can do a couple of mega rides, runs or brick sessions to prepare your body for the day but in spring it’s just about total volume and adapting to that volume. That’s a key difference between roadies and triathletes. The running beats us up more so we can’t go hard on every bike ride. It’s the total weeks training that’s making the difference not a single session. Hope that’s useful.

Hey OP, even if the speed/numbers aren’t “real” in Zwift, I applaud your desire to work toward spending 5 h on a bicycle saddle, on a trainer no less. IRL, I do a bunch of squirming on a saddle over 112 (my fastest race split was 5:50). It’s the race that keeps me going. On a trainer, I can’t take it. Have to get off for a minute here or there, bathroom, refill bottles, get a slice of pizza (which yes, I eat on the trainer). But I put the time in on the trainer BECAUSE I have a real race as a goal. To just have the trainer be the goal, wow, that’s remarkable to me. Good luck! PS, IMO you eat too much, considering you’re not fueling to run well.